Tiling.



J. M. WELLS.

TILING.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 3,1912.

1,047,724. Patented De.17,1912.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH M. WELLs, 0E NEWARK, NEW .IEEsEY, AssIefNoEv 0E ONE-HALE 'ro FRANK L.

DAVIS, 0E CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. v

TILING.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

Application led .Tune 3, 1912. Serial No. 701,364.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. WELLS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Newark, in the count-y of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tiling, of which thek following is a specification.-

The invention relates to improvementsfin tiles for walls, ceilings, floors and the like, and it consists in the novel tile hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention pertains more particularly to improvements 1n. the tiles shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States numbered 866,755 granted to me September 24, 1907. The tiles shown in said Letters Patent are each formed along each edge of its inner face with a groove, the

grooves extending respectively the ,full

length and width of the tile and being open at both ends.

In accordance with my present invention I. form the inner side or back of the tile with integral bridge portions crossing the edge grooves and connecting the inner panel or face of ,the tile with the outer walls of the said grooves, said bridge portions subdividing the grooves and serving several useful purposes, one being the strengthening of the outer flanges at the sides and ends of the tile, another being the providing at the opposite lateral sides of said bridgeportions additional surfaces against which the cement may act, and another being theremoval of ^the danger of air being trapped between the cement and the inner face or panel of the-- tile, said bridge portions allowing the air to escape over them from said inner face or panel to the extreme outeredges of the tile.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to ,the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vfertical transverse section through two adjoining tiles embodying my invention and shown held 'against a body of cement, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the individual tiles, the inner face portion of the tile being shown,

In the drawings, 10 designates the tile, 11 the inner face thereof, and 12 the outer face having the usual, glazed Surface. i

My invention resides in the formation of the Inner face of the tile, and in carrying out my inventin I form such inner face, adjacent to its end and side edges, with grooves 14, which, as shown in Fig. 2, are open at their outer ends and at their mid- Ydle portions are intercepted by bridges 15 which extend from the central panel of the inner face of the tile to the outer edges of the anges 16 defining the outer walls of the grooves 14.A The outer faces of the bridges 15 are on the same plane with the central panel at the inner face of the tile, and said bridges are integral with the tile structure and where theyv cross the grooves 14 ill the latter, leajving at the lateral edges of the bridges vertical shoulders 17. The grooves 14 have inner substantially vertical walls 18 and outer inclined walls 19, the latter being on the inner surfaces of the edge flanges 16. The walls 18, except at the bridges 15, are continuous and define an oblong panel presenting a uniform face, and the flanges 16 are, at the corner portions of the tile, discontinued wherebythe ends of the groove 14 become left open across their transverse width.

'In the application of the tiles to their final position, the cement 20 may grip them on the faces of their inner oblong panels, on the bridges 15, on the sides of the walls 18, 19, on the lateral walls 17 of the bridges and on the base surfaces of the grooves, which combine to present ymaximum surfaces for engagement with the cement, with the result that the tiles become very vsecurely anchored, the gripping of the cement against the walls .17, 18, 19 very materially aiding in the proper securing of the tiles in place.

The lianges 16 of the tiles are of considerable importance, since when the tiles are applied, the flanges yof adjacent tiles come substantially together, and the cement by engaging the` walls 19 of the anges and bridging over fromone tile to another, effectually binds the tiles together, each tile becoming bound at its four flanges 16 to the adjacent anges of the four tiles surrounding it., The flanges 16 are also of impor- V'tance in that in applying cement directly to the tiles,`or buttering them4 as it is termed, 'the angular or sharp edges presented by said flanges serve as means against which the trowel maybe moved in cleaning it and leavl ing the cement well on the inner face of the tiles. v The grooves .14 receive cement throughout their extent, and the .fact that 110 these grooves are open at their outer ends is an important matter since thereby the cement is prevented from trapping the air in said grooves. The edge fianges 16 are of importance in the manufacture as well as in the application of the tiles, since they prevent the warping or distortion of the tiles during the burning process and also prevent the glaze from passing ovel upon the edges of the inner face of the tiles andinterfering with the action of the cement.

e I regard the bridges 15 as of very great importance in that by being integral with the central panel of the tile and with the flanges 16, they very greatly strengthen the tile as a whole and said iianges in particular, said bridges enabling the tiles to be somewhat roughly handled without material danger of the flanges 16 being broken and also serving to aid the ianges in preventing the warping or distortion of the tiles during the burning process. In addition the lateral walls 17 of the bridges 15 afford additional gripping surfaces to be acted on by,

the cement. A very great advantage of the presence of the bridges 15 is that they form means for permitting air to travel from between the cement and the inner face of the tile and thusA avoid the trappage of air on the inner central panel of the tile. I have found that in the absence of the bridges 15 the cement filling the grooves 14 will frequently prevent trapped air from passing over the surface of the inner face of the tile and escaping, such air being retarded in its escape by the presence of the grooves 14 and the cement filling them and extending over upon the central panel of the tile. The bridges 15 continue the inner face of the tile across the grooves 14 and hence permit the trapped air to follow the inner surface of the tile and travel across the grooves( 14 and escape. The bridges 15 thus not only increase the eiiiciency and strength of the tile, but afford definitemeans for preventing air from being trapped between the inner face of the tile and the securing cement.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A tile having along the edges of its inner face grooves to receive cement, said grooves having substantially vertical inner walls and outwardly inclined outer walls, and bridges extending from the main inner face of the tile across said grooves and being integrai with the walls thereof; substantially as set forth.

2. A tile having along the edges of its inner face grooves to receive cement, said grooves being open at their ends at the corners of the tile and having substantially vertical inner walls and outwardly inclined outer walls,vand bridges extending from the main inner face of the tile across said grooves and being integral with the walls thereof; substantially as set forth.

3. A tile having along the edges of its inner face grooves 14 open at their ends and defined by a base surface, substantially vertical inner walls 18 and outer inclined walls 19, and bridges extending from the main inner face of the tile across said grooves and being integral with said base surface and walls thereof; substantially as set forth.

4. yA tile having on its inner face an encompassing edge groove defining an inner panel and whose outer walls cooperate with the edge walls of the tile to form edge flanges 16 at the ends and sides of the tile, said tile also,having bridges extending from said inner panel across said groove; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 1st day of J une, A. D. 1912.

JOSEPH M. wELLs. 

